Beck Depression Inventory: exploring its psychometric properties in a palliative care population of advanced cancer patients

To validate the Greek version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-21 items in advanced cancer patents attending a palliative care unit. The scale was translated with the forward-backward procedure into Greek. It was administered twice, with a 1-week interval, to 105 patients with advanced cancer. The patients also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, while researchers recorded data on demographic characteristics, disease status and treatment regimen. The Greek version of the BDI had overall Cronbach's alpha 0.906. The most significant correlations were found between BDI and performance status (P < 0.0005), gender (P = 0.031) and family status (P = 0.009). The test-retest reliability in terms of Spearman-rho, Pearson-rho coefficient and Kendall's tau-b was also satisfactory (P < 0.0005). Validity as performed using known-group analysis showed good results. The Inventory discriminated well between subgroups of patients differing in disease severity as defined by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. Correlations between the BDI and the HAD scale was 0.544 for the anxiety subscale and 0.657 for the depression subscale. Multiple regression analysis was conducted and predicted that the contribution of gender, family status and performance status to BDI is high. These psychometric properties of the Greek version of the BDI confirm it as a valid and reliable measure when administered to patients with advanced cancer.